Danielle Spencer, best remembered as Dee Thomas on the 1970s ABC sitcom What’s Happening!!, died on August 11, 2025, at the age of 60.
She passed away in a Richmond, Virginia hospital with her mother, Cheryl, and her brother, jazz musician Jeremy Pelt, at her side. The news was confirmed by her longtime friend and former co-star Haywood Nelson.
Spencer faced serious health challenges in her later years. In 2014, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy. Four years later, she needed emergency brain surgery to stop bleeding.
She also lived with spinal stenosis, the result of injuries from a 1977 car accident. In 2004, corrective surgery left her partially paralyzed for eight months before she regained mobility.
Born on June 24, 1965, in New York City, Danielle was raised by her mother, a French teacher, and her stepfather, actor Tim Pelt.
At seven, she began performing in a repertory company co-founded by Pelt. A few years later, she landed her breakout role as Dee Thomas on What’s Happening!!. The sitcom ran from 1976 to 1979 and later returned with a sequel, What’s Happening Now!!. Spencer reprised her role in the follow-up while continuing her college studies.
In addition to acting, Spencer also built a successful career as a veterinarian. In 1983, she enrolled at the University of California-Davis to study medicine, later continuing her education at Tuskegee University’s Veterinary School in Alabama. She earned her degree in 1996.
Her own experience with injury and recovery shaped the way she cared for animals. Instead of focusing solely on easing pain, she worked to identify and treat its root cause.
While committed to her veterinary work, Spencer never fully left the entertainment world. She returned to acting in 1997, playing a veterinarian in As Good As It Gets, and later appeared in Peter Rabbit and the Crucifix (2001).
Spencer also released her memoir, Through the Fire: Journal of a Child Star, which brought renewed public interest and led to appearances on The Wendy Williams Show, Life After, and Unsung Hollywood.
She is survived by her mother, Cheryl, and her brother, Jeremy. Spencer was married twice during her lifetime — first to Garry Fields, and later to David L. David.
First Husband, Garry Fields
In 1999, Spencer married Garry Fields, who worked as her publicist and manager while also serving as a marketing manager in Marina Del Rey, California.
The couple remained together until 2013. While there are no public records confirming whether they had children, they did share a dog named Farrah. In 2012, a year before their split, they attended the Angels In Fur Dog Rescue “Raise the Woof” Halloween Party hosted by Debra Wilson at Smooth Sound Multimedia Studio in Van Nuys, California, on October 20.
Second Spouse, David L. David
A year after her first marriage ended, Danielle wed entrepreneur David L. David in 2014. She was reportedly introduced to him by her former What’s Happening!! co-star Ernest Thomas.
It remains unclear whether the couple stayed together up until Spencer’s death.
